 
Nov. 10, 2023
Veterans Day
This week, we have the honor of celebrating the service of our veterans and their families for Veterans Day. Big thanks go to ESD’s Veterans Employee Resource Group (VERG)! Members teamed up with the statewide VERG business resource group and with the Washington Department of Veterans Affairs to host an amazing event this week.
Pictured: Attendees of the Veteran’s Day ceremony
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 Pictured: Commissioner Cami Feek speaks to event attendees. Thank you TVW for streaming this!
 Pictured: Phil White facilitated and brought this event to fruition. Phil is ESD's deputy commissioner and VERG executive sponsor.
 Pictured: Wreath laying at the winged victory monument on Olympia's Capitol Campus - honoring those who served and WWI.
If you didn’t get a chance to watch, TVW was on the scene to capture our event, and you can watch it here. Thank you, ESD VERG, for saluting those who have served and for putting on an amazing event.
Make sure to also read this awesome Veterans Day story in last week’s NewsNet by Julie Saltzman. The call to stewardship continues through public service for all veterans who work in ESD. Also, please be on the lookout for a story on intersectionality and veterans in the all-staff message going out later today. I salute and thank all of the veterans, military spouses and dependents for their service to our country!
Check out more photos from the event.
 YesVets virtual hiring event and Hire-A-Vet award winners
The mission of making sure veterans and their families are employed, no matter where they live in the state, continues with the help of YesVets. The Seattle Seahawks Task Force 12 program and our YesVets partnership held a recent virtual hiring event with more than 100 employers and resource providers available for the 200+ who registered.
 To kick off the event, I had the honor of announcing our Hire-A-Vet award winners for 2023.
Recognizing employers that make a priority to say “Yes” to hiring veterans is YesVets’ overall mission. And the mission extends to hiring events for veterans throughout the year. Thank you to everyone who helped with this event — especially Hannah Schoepp — for truly knocking it out of the park. Job well done! Let’s keep hiring veterans and their families through YesVets and our WorkSource offices!
And to all of ESD’s military families: Remember to get connected with your earned benefits and resources and, if you haven’t already, connect with our ESD VERG.
  BEING highlighted in state newsletter
Highlighting the work of our agency employee resource groups to ALL state employees is the perfect way to represent the hard work of our EDI office and employee resource groups. Our BEING ERG was highlighted in the latest edition of the state Blacks United In Leadership and Diversity (BUILD) newsletter.
Awesome work, BEING, for getting the word out there! Please continue speaking up for equity for all our employees.
 Collaboration for a Cause
Outreach is key, and I had a blast making connections with our communities and helping to expand ESD’s voice and reach.
 Multiple ESD team members recently represented our agency at the largest job fair and resource fair in Pierce County! Collaboration for a Cause featured more than 100 employers and resources in the Tacoma Dome, all helping attendees find quality employment and stability.
 Top row left to right: Gary Lott, Albert Garza, Elliott Sawyer, Louis Ihrig
Front row left to right: Stephen Pacada, Martinez Hickmon, Cheyenne Pernites, Kathie Williams, Kathie-Emeline Pahulu, Cheri Willoughby, Peter Mihaluta, me and Jie Zeng.
Booths were organized into sections based on the type of services they provided or demographics they serve, including employment, education & training, young adults, health, basic needs, LGBTQ+, veterans, and those with disabilities.
It was a great way to highlight the different services available and to make them easily accessible.
Check out the livestream walkthrough video that we posted to our social media platforms from the event.
Please take a look at more photos from the event.
I hope everyone has a chance this weekend to honor our veteran and military families and community.
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